There's something special about Lafayette. I first entered the Psychology Department at UL Lafayette as a student 17 years ago. In August 2010, I returned as an Assistant Professor of Psychology. From the moment I stepped back onto campus, I could feel it, although it's hard to articulate. I think it's something to do with people being there by choice. People don't just reside in Lafayette, they Live here, with intention and commitment.

Since landing back here in August 2010, I've picked up a handful of master's students, two handfuls of undergrads, some curious colleagues, a couple of cool folks from the Lafayette community, and periodic visitors from just about anywhere. On paper, we call ourselves the Louisiana Contextual Science Research Group. In practice, we are just "the lab."

Broadly, my lab is a community of folks inspired by the idea of a world in which folks get to embrace their ongoing experiences and actively create lives that they care about AND dedicated to building a science of that. We build that science using specific theoretical perspectives grounded in behaviorism with an emphasis on Relational Frame Theory and the psychological flexibility model in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. We apply these perspectives to any places where we see folks (even folks in the mirror) getting stuck and alienated from the things that matter to them. We do projects that we care about and I say "we" because a lab member's projects are the lab's projects. So far this has included us launching projects on behaviors as diverse as parenting, disordered eating, stigma, altrusim, body image, anxiety, bystander, and sexual behavior - approaching each through the lens of contextual behavioral science.

And we adopt CBS not only in how we approach our research, but also in how we approach our process. We are a lively group with diverse interests, and we have no idea how to accomplish supporting each other in creating lives we care about right there in the lab. And we keep trying, building, tearing down, and reinventing. My lab is still young - growing, and changing everyday and I honestly don't know exactly how it will look in a month or a year or ten years, but I am committed to making it a community in which its members have space to grow into the folks we want to be, a little at a time, everyday.

Some of you have been coming around and have heard me say stuff like this before, and have come to sort of like it. Others are probably wondering if I'm about to ask for your first-born or offer you participation in the chicken ritual. Let me say this - if this sounds like something you would work for, I'd love to be able to call my lab "ours."

Click the links below to access info about our current studies or to download my CV. Feel free to contact me or any of the labbies with any questions about the work we're doing or the format of our program.